Bilstein 6112/5160 vs Eibach 2R and Roadactive Suspension vs new leaf springs

[LBT]

I believe I was the first to use the Roadmaster Active Suspension back in 2021 when I bought my Ranger. I was towing a 7000 lb camper with 700-725 lb tongue weight, Bed had around 300-350 lb of "stuff" and I had replaced the stock shocks with a pair of KYB's....helped but not enough.
Did some serious studying on the RAS and went with it.
It is a "passive" system that acts like an air bag system but only when weight is placed on the rear. It also acts as a sway bar when cornering, and also as a traction bar setup. All for less than your air bag set up or a sway bar costs.
It is a set up once and forget it,,,,ran it on my Ranger for 4 years and never touched it other than to occasionally spray it down with some spray lube.
My current Expedition has rear coils so unfortunately there's nothing that can help.....but id Roadmaster had a setup for it I would buy in a second.

I like the sound of all that! It definitely sounds similar to what the clanker was spiting out. Did it improve the ride unloaded as well? Did you keep it at the heavier (40%) setting all the time? The clanker keeps recommending that I keep at the lighter level (25%) since I'll be mostly unloaded at this point, so I'm curious to hear about how well it rides unloaded/lightly loaded.

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[Grumpaw]

I like the sound of all that! It definitely sounds similar to what the clanker was spiting out. Did it improve the ride unloaded as well? Did you keep it at the heavier (40%) setting all the time? The clanker keeps recommending that I keep at the lighter level (25%) since I'll be mostly unloaded at this point, so I'm curious to hear about how well it rides unloaded/lightly loaded.

As a sway control you will notice the change when cornering as it acts as a sway control. As a load bearing yo will not notice it until you start loading the rear end as it will eliminate the "sag" when carrying a load. It will eliminate the bounce as it will act like stiffer springs.
I kept mine at the heavier settings as I towed quite frequently....hitching up my travel trailer put an immediate 700 lb weight on the rear. If not towing I probably would have used the lighter setting for just carrying stuff in the bed.
When running empty it acts as a passive system as with no load you will probably only notice the sway control and maybe a sitffer rear no "wallowing" feel. When the rear is loaded the springs will extend taking up and compensating for the load.....think of the air bags automatically adding air when needed and eliminating air when not needed to compensate for a load.
Check out Roadmaster's web site....there is a full explanation/video on the system.
Get the Ranger system part number and check on line for prices....I got mine at the time from ETrailer as they were the least expensive with free shipping.....but that was 4 years ago.

 

[LBT]

As a sway control you will notice the change when cornering as it acts as a sway control. As a load bearing yo will not notice it until you start loading the rear end as it will eliminate the "sag" when carrying a load. It will eliminate the bounce as it will act like stiffer springs.
I kept mine at the heavier settings as I towed quite frequently....hitching up my travel trailer put an immediate 700 lb weight on the rear. If not towing I probably would have used the lighter setting for just carrying stuff in the bed.
When running empty it acts as a passive system as with no load you will probably only notice the sway control and maybe a sitffer rear no "wallowing" feel. When the rear is loaded the springs will extend taking up and compensating for the load.....think of the air bags automatically adding air when needed and eliminating air when not needed to compensate for a load.
Check out Roadmaster's web site....there is a full explanation/video on the system.
Get the Ranger system part number and check on line for prices....I got mine at the time from ETrailer as they were the least expensive with free shipping.....but that was 4 years ago.

Very helpful information! Thank you. Sounds like this will be perfect for my current application and what I'm trying to accomplish.

 

[Ranger Mel]

Very helpful information! Thank you. Sounds like this will be perfect for my current application and what I'm trying to accomplish.

Quick! Do it before you research more and change your mind!! Ask me how I know!

 

[LBT]

No going back now! I found a good open box deal on the Eibach kit and a coupon for the RAS. Should be here next Tuesday. All in for parts I’m right around $1500. Now I have to decide if I want to do it myself or pay for the install. I’m leaning towards paying since my back is still hit or miss. I may have access to a lift though and that would make things a lot easier. However I’ve never messed with suspension parts (as obviously seen o the pics of my old F150 with its droopy butt), which also makes me more hesitant.

 

[TxOTRRanger]

No going back now! I found a good open box deal on the Eibach kit and a coupon for the RAS. Should be here next Tuesday. All in for parts I’m right around $1500. Now I have to decide if I want to do it myself or pay for the install. I’m leaning towards paying since my back is still hit or miss. I may have access to a lift though and that would make things a lot easier. However I’ve never messed with suspension parts (as obviously seen o the pics of my old F150 with its droopy butt), which also makes me more hesitant.

This is just my opinion, you can take it FWIW. It is not necessarily a bad thing to pay the extra money to have someone that does this kind of thing for a living do the install for you. I had Lone Star Conversions install the 5100 shocks and struts on my truck and set the front height where I wanted it set at, and then they sent it to the alignment shop that they use and had a front end alignment done on it. The truck rides and drives 100% better than it did in stock form.

 

[Ranger Mel]

No going back now! I found a good open box deal on the Eibach kit and a coupon for the RAS. Should be here next Tuesday. All in for parts I’m right around $1500. Now I have to decide if I want to do it myself or pay for the install. I’m leaning towards paying since my back is still hit or miss. I may have access to a lift though and that would make things a lot easier. However I’ve never messed with suspension parts (as obviously seen o the pics of my old F150 with its droopy butt), which also makes me more hesitant.

My two cents on the DIY... my back limits how comfortablely I can do certain things and when I start struggling with things in awkward positions my patience goes right out the window. I was just trying to top off some tire sealant in my mountain bike tires this morning and the rear valve body is plugged. Thought I had it after mess #1 doing this on the floor with no bike stand. Attempt #2 and sealant on the wall and all over the cardboard I had the presence of mind to lay down the second time. My weakened hands from Guillain-Barre last year does not help my frustration. Likely drop it off at my bike shop tomorrow to do the job I can usually do myself. Short story long, when it's shock upgrade time I'm taking my Ranger to my mechanic. That labor cost is worth me not having a stroke in the driveway and watching the neighbors peek through their blinds as they learn new vocabulary!

 

[LBT]

Yeah, I'm so far from knowing what I'm doing with this that I'm going to have it professionally installed. Especially with a wedding coming up soon, I'm not trying to re-injure myself before that! I found a local shop I'm happy with the price for the install and they aren't up charging for bringing in outside parts so that's a plus.

 

[Frenchy]

I can't speak for Eibach, but I can speak for Bilstein. The 6112/5160 can do a decent job for a vehicle with no load, but once you add load it will struggle to handle it in a way. To specify the valving is meant for no load and will bounce a bit excessively with enough load. Also depending on where you live, you may not like the ride on certain roads as it can cause you to bounce all over the place.

For leaf springs vs the road active suspension, I was say that Road Active has its place. To specify it's more of a supplemental spring for towing. Since you are considering hitting the trail, I would go for a leaf spring.

What would I do if I were you? I would go with Old Man EMU. Why exactly? Well they have the new Nitrocharger Plus that is supposed to be more comfortable than the Nitrocharger Sport and you have the BP-51'S that are really nice overall. Another thing to consider is the leaf springs. They have 3 different leaf springs from no load to quite a bit of load. You also have the option of adding an extra leaf as needed if the initial purchase didn't cover extra load you added later on.

Hope this helps with the decision

 

[Racket]

Just to pile on I get the impression that the Dobson's springs a regarded as pretty high end/high quality. A budget spring swap would be a set of Ford multileaf takeoffs (Tremor or the euro takeoffs like I got) then the OME's or Dobson's are the preferred upgrades. There are others but I keep reading of issues - not sure the cause or source but not everyone is satisfied. The number of posts where the stock monoleafs fail on this forum would be incentive enough to swap them out.

 

[Dr3wDrop]

I am also teetering between the same two shocks. At 54k miles on my Tremor I know the fox have ‘limited’ life left.

Seeing pics of rust on Eibachs is not comforting. Hearing the Bilsteins are ‘stiff’ is not comforting.

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